A quick roundup, etc.

Busy busy day, production meetings, designer meetings, rehearsals, putting my dog in the day care (or kennel or whatever) for the day. Probably not going to really be able to post, so I thought I'd just write two quick things:

1) So you may have noticed a distinct absence on this blog of writings about the situation in Iraq.

Frankly, I don’t know what to say or what to write about what is going on in there except that there was a certain faction of the anti-war movement who were not opposed to taking out Saddam Hussein but thought there were non-military ways to do it that hadn’t been exhausted and that furthermore this group of clowns were the wrong guys for the job. I was one of those people. I rejoice at the greater freedom that Iraqis enjoy today, I think capturing and trying Saddam Hussein is a great thing. Programs like the Iraq Memory Foundation and important steps in the right direction. I also think that it’s a shame that I should feel it necessary to list all of those things in order to legitimately be able to make the point that the Bush administration was fundamentally incapable of handling this mess that they’ve gotten so many countries into. Hopefully, they’ll pay for that dearly, both on election day and in the annals of history.

As to the specific day-to-day, well, go read Daily Kos, Atrios or Talking Points Memo. They’re much more informed and much better writers on this subject than I am.

2) I put in a call to some fellow culture bloggers to get their thoughts on arts and politics. Laura Axelrod has pointed me to a section on her blog where she’s archived such writing. Rob Matsushita wrote me an e-mail, and George Hunka, ever the good sport, wrote an excellent post on the subject that you can read here.

I'll be responding to them (and anyone else that wants to write about the subject) over the next couple of days, but First You're Born beckons today, and I must answer the call.